Now before anyone gets the wrong idea, I love how Big Ben can keep a play going and make the plays that come from keeping that play going with his mobility and toughness. I think he's the best in the league at it.

But I also think that as he progresses in age, his toughness is going to be the demise of him. He's not afraid to take big hits and he'll always try and get out of a sack, but a lot of times his efforts end up putting him on his back either as he throws or as he's trying to get away, and some of those hits are just plain nasty.

This latest injury, which truly is upsetting because he was playing great football, may not be the best example, but still an example of him perhaps trying to do too much and taking a bit too much of a risk as the teams most important player.

I know it is frustrating to watch as a Pats fan, Brady simply conceding certain sacks and making sure to protect the ball instead of trying to get away, and the same goes for other less mobile QBs, but I honestly think I would prefer that a lot of times to what Big Ben is doing lately.

He isn't getting any younger, and he has over the past two seasons now sustained injuries that really hurt the team in the playoffs last year, and will surely hurt the team now moving forward.

I just hope he has a quick recovery (as quick as possible for that injury) and maybe starts to protect himself a little better because he is great to watch._________________

Not really, although it might mean he likely isn't doing a Favre and playing when he's 40. He's had some nagging stuff but has never really slowed down or anything so far. Last week's injury is the first REALLY serious on the field injury he's had and it was a really rare fluke injury.

What we need is a backup we can put more faith in than Batch/Lefty. Ben in his injured state probably still have more of a chance to win against the 49ers last year than any of our active backups._________________

Growing up watching Steve McNair, a man who would play through any and everything, I was able to watch someone who actually earned their paycheck. Big Ben reminds me a lot of that. You're out there to make every play possible, not to kneel down anytime you may get hit.

If Big Ben has to end his career prematurely because of a lot of injuries over the period of time, I blame the Steelers organization for not putting a good offensive line out there for him. He had to make so many of those plays over the years because of how bad his offensive line was.

this year was not a problem...Roethlisberger was healthy, and he had not many sacks and hit

it's just bad luck and this is very frustrating

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as tough as he is he is also very injury prone

between 2006 and 2011, he missed only three games due to injury and two of his games was not important for the steelers

But he's played injured. He should have sat out more games in 2011, he had no business playing in the 49ers game.

He has gotten more nagging injuries as he's gotten older, and he tends to play through them. Whether that will be a huge problem in the future, I'm not sure.

As a Niners fan, I loved the big "W," but it was a hard game to watch. Those balls were sailing and he couldn't avoid Aldon Smith to save his life. I actually felt bad. I know that game would have been a completely different game had he either not played at all or if he was healthy. Gosh, even during warmups, he was limping around.

If I remember right, at the time, the Ravens and Steelers were tied in the division and the Ravens held the tiebreaker due to head-to-head rules, so it was a must win for the Steelers, but at what cost? Maybe he would have healed faster. Maybe that Broncos game in the playoffs would have been different? Heck, he could've been injured even more during the Niners game, possibly career ending. Who knows._________________

A lot of that really is on the coaches' decision to play him during those injuries. We probably should have done like other teams at this point and invest a bit more than a last round pick on a backup QB just so we'd have someone on roster that the coaches would trust in a needed game over Ben playing at maybe 50% at best._________________

been thinking that the past few years. everyone talks about how tough he is but he just looks dumb to me. a lot of the injuries seem like if he took a week of or so he would be fine but instead he plays the next 5 games injured._________________

vikingsvikings wrote:

I don't understand most of that, but I can tell it's probably inaccurate.

Growing up watching Steve McNair, a man who would play through any and everything, I was able to watch someone who actually earned their paycheck. Big Ben reminds me a lot of that. You're out there to make every play possible, not to kneel down anytime you may get hit.

If Big Ben has to end his career prematurely because of a lot of injuries over the period of time, I blame the Steelers organization for not putting a good offensive line out there for him. He had to make so many of those plays over the years because of how bad his offensive line was.

I wont completely disagree with that, BUT if you go back and look at alot of the plays where Ben has gotten injured, its when he scrambled from the pocket, even when it was still set. Last year when he got his ankle bent back against the Browns, the line did their job just fine on that play, but he moved out of the pocket and held the ball for too long waiting for a play to develop.

The line has sucked, but you cant put it all on the OLine or the organization.

Its no secret that Ben's greatest strength also works against him at times._________________

pnies20 wrote:

I know I'm one of the biggest trolls on here, but dont call me on it. I can dish it but cant take it.

been thinking that the past few years. everyone talks about how tough he is but he just looks dumb to me. a lot of the injuries seem like if he took a week of or so he would be fine but instead he plays the next 5 games injured.

Its dumb because he wants to be out there on the field to help his team?

You do realize that doctors clear him to play, right? He has the option at times depending on the injury, but if its something they decide he can play through, its his option. And anyone who isnt a pansy and truly loves the game is going to go out there unless they are told they arent allowed._________________

pnies20 wrote:

I know I'm one of the biggest trolls on here, but dont call me on it. I can dish it but cant take it.

been thinking that the past few years. everyone talks about how tough he is but he just looks dumb to me. a lot of the injuries seem like if he took a week of or so he would be fine but instead he plays the next 5 games injured.

Its dumb because he wants to be out there on the field to help his team?

You do realize that doctors clear him to play, right? He has the option at times depending on the injury, but if its something they decide he can play through, its his option. And anyone who isnt a pansy and truly loves the game is going to go out there unless they are told they arent allowed.

i get why he does it...its still dumb. just because your smart it doesnt make someone a pansy. just because he can actually go out and play doesnt mean he should._________________

vikingsvikings wrote:

I don't understand most of that, but I can tell it's probably inaccurate.

been thinking that the past few years. everyone talks about how tough he is but he just looks dumb to me. a lot of the injuries seem like if he took a week of or so he would be fine but instead he plays the next 5 games injured.

Its dumb because he wants to be out there on the field to help his team?

You do realize that doctors clear him to play, right? He has the option at times depending on the injury, but if its something they decide he can play through, its his option. And anyone who isnt a pansy and truly loves the game is going to go out there unless they are told they arent allowed.

i think it was you in another thread that said the steelers season was over(which i don't agree with necessarily) maybe it was another steelers fan.....either way......do you think it would be best to shut ben down for the rest of the year? he clearly needs to heal and get that shoulder right amongst other things.....hes on the wrong side of 30 now as well.....if they want to get another 5 seasons or so out of this guy and continue to build around him he needs to finally get healthy

been thinking that the past few years. everyone talks about how tough he is but he just looks dumb to me. a lot of the injuries seem like if he took a week of or so he would be fine but instead he plays the next 5 games injured.

Its dumb because he wants to be out there on the field to help his team?

You do realize that doctors clear him to play, right? He has the option at times depending on the injury, but if its something they decide he can play through, its his option. And anyone who isnt a pansy and truly loves the game is going to go out there unless they are told they arent allowed.